Concept Note on Sustainable Development Goals Governments of Colombia, Peru, and United Arab Emirates

1. The concept of the SDGs has gained increasing support and there have been many recommendations on thematic areas that the SDGs could cover. The SDGs can contribute to framing complex development challenges, generating renewed commitment to address them, and defining practical means for effective implementation. Based on the recommended lists as well as the many informal dialogues on the SDGs that have taken place over the past months, our governments consider that it is possible to identify, at least preliminarily, a list of indicative thematic areas that can help to guide the process to develop the SDGs. These would be centered on issues that are widely regarded as politically mature1. 2. The preliminary definition of an indicative list would enable the process to engage on substantive work from as early as possible (Rio+1). An open-ended process to identify all the SDGs could be protracted and there is a growing sense of urgency and need for action. Work on a preliminary, indicative set of SDGs would start to yield important lessons on the SDG model and linkages between issues. It is submitted that the development of each SDG will require expert guidance and inputs, but that the selection of the thematic areas that could inform the SDGs is a political decision. This preliminary list of SDGs would not limit nor prejudge the work undertaken through the process, which will be driven by Member States. 3. SDGs must be guided by Agenda 21, the Rio Principles – including CBDR - and the JPOI. They should contribute to poverty eradication, catalyze implementation, address existing gaps in implementation of SD, integrate the three dimensions of sustainable development, be few in number and be easily communicated, and improve ability to track progress. Application of the SDGs will allow for varied country and regional circumstances and priorities. The SDGs build upon the MDGs. Visualizing Sustainable Development Goals 4. Sustainable Development Goals are integrated sets of voluntary, universally applicable global goal statements organized by thematic areas, with time-bound, quantitative targets and a suite (dashboard) of indicators to be adopted at national level, that aim to catalyze sound pathways to sustainable development, and to balance economic, social and environmental dimensions, and reflect the interconnections between them.  The goals should be aspirational and universal in scope, and follow up must be tailored to the circumstances and priorities of each country.  The application of the SDGs will reflect and enhance the principle of equity.  Their implementation will build capacity in developing countries to address identified issues in a lasting manner  The development of targets and indicators should incorporate the three dimensions of sustainable development.  Targets should also serve to characterize linkages between SDGs. An example of this is the linkage between water, energy and food security issues.

The Process to develop the SDGs
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For this reason it is strongly recommended that the SDGs do not encompass climate change. The UNFCCC negotiations are at a difficult and critical juncture, and need to be resolved within the established framework. Bringing climate change issues into fora outside of the UNFCCC will complicate the negotiations and generate bottlenecks in other processes.

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Concept Note on SDGs

5. The process to follow up a political decision in the Rio Conference needs to be focused and well structured. The components of the SDGs and the SDGs themselves must be defined through targeted consultations and deliberations by Member States, and not negotiated prima facie. 6. The development of the SDGs must be informed by: i) existing information; ii) work already undertaken on indicators and goals, in particular the MDGs; and iii) technical inputs from national experts, regional organizations and specialized agencies. 7. The process would:  further elaborate the SDGS  develop targets and indicators  assess required support for implementation for each SDG in terms of, inter alia, o technology transfer and assistance o capacity building o financial support and investments o institutional architecture (international and regional)

Linkages to the MDGs The relation between the MDGs and the SDGs is crucial and needs further discussion, in particular with regard to the post 2015 agenda. The definition of new thematic areas for SDGs supposes also a clear commitment in Rio to strengthening the Millennium Development Goals and their core mission of poverty eradication. As part of the Post 2015 process, including the 2013 review of the Millennium Development Goals, updated MDGs and new thematic areas identified for SDGs will be made complementary and mutually supportive, where appropriate. For example, gender is a cross-cutting issue that informs development of the SDGs, yet consideration may also be given to defining new targets to gender MDG. Overall the planned and ongoing processes on the Post 2015 framework need to be harmonized so as to ensure coherent and consistent outputs.

Indicative Listing of SDGS 8. The Governments that present this proposal do not have their own list of priority SDGs. Based on recommended lists and inputs from informal dialogues there appears to be broad consensus around a core of issues as reflected in the table below. These issues are considered to be politically mature and to address widely acknowledged needs. The following are proposed as an initial, preliminary and indicative list of SDGs for adoption at the Rio Conference. Additional thematic areas might be identified, or recommendations emerge on clustering different areas through the process that follows upon Rio. 9. Poverty eradication is an overarching goal to which all SDGs contribute. 10. Each SDG would include an assessment of specific requirements for effective implementation (means of implementation).  Food security: production, access and nutrition Potential issue areas: - Reduction in food waste and food losses - Achieve zero net land degradation (Increase in productive land) - Increased global food production (Close yield gaps in agriculture and achieve MSY in fisheries) 2
Concept Note on SDGs

Enhanced Employment and Livelihood Security Potential issue areas: - Social protection floors tailored to national needs and capacities promoted - Supportive economic, social and environmental policies for employment generation - Promotion of entrepreneurship and sustainable enterprise development - Enabling environment for full participation of women and youth in labor markets → MDG Linkage: Halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day 3
Concept Note on SDGs

→ MDG Linkage: Achieve decent employment for women, men, and young people